Finding Ms. Write Blog Tour – Day 8 with Kathy Brodland

Reminder: We’re giving away FIVE e-book copies of the book. To enter, all you have to do is drop a comment on any of the blog posts along the way. Good luck!

Orphans’ Christmas – Finally a story about lesbians over 40! by Kathy Brodland

A long time ago, in a land far away, a senior editor sat down at her computer and sent off e-mails to the twelve authors who had been accepted for inclusion in Ylva’s forthcoming anthology Finding Ms. Write.

I was one of those twelve authors

Needless to say I was absolutely overjoyed to have a life-long dream finally come true. I could now say I was a published author. I had a contract; the edits were taken care of, so were the proofs. All I had to do now was sit back and wait until June 15, the publishing date. Or at least, that’s what I thought was going to happen until I was invited to take part in a blog tour with the other authors.

So how did my short story “Orphans’ Christmas” come about? Many years ago, two women living in the community where I lived started hosting their version of the Orphans’ Christmas. It was a very popular event, and I attended at least one of them. There was no Frankie to my Edie at the time; she came along later. Moving along, many years later, my wife and I began attending the Annual Boxing Day Blowout, hosted by two of our friends.

As in my short story, there was a giant Christmas tree that took up the better part of a corner of the living room; there were two min-pins who would honor you with their presence if they were in the right mood, and there was enough food to feed an army. We also played the same game as was played in my short story. I do believe I actually won a pair of brass candlesticks at one of these shindigs. And my wife is the proud owner of a black apron with the words The Real Boss printed across the bib area. Was there Christmas cake? Probably, along with everything else that makes up for a feast with friends.

To tease you just a little, here is an excerpt from “Orphans’ Christmas”:

Orphans’ Christmas – An Excerpt

Marilyn glanced my way. Her lip curled. “You could do so much better than this old hag. I could show you a real good time, Frankie, darling.”

I tightened my grip on my cane, wanting to slap her smirking face. Instead, I moved away before I lost it in front of these strangers. Marilyn’s words rang in my ears. She sounded so much like my ex when she’d hurled similar words at me before she took off with a woman twenty years younger than me. I headed for the front door, eager to put as much distance between me and her as possible. I almost made it when Frankie appeared in front of me.

“Don’t let her spoil your evening, Edie. For what it’s worth, I’d rather be here with you.”

I’m supposed to add a brief bio here, so here goes. I am a seventy-eight-year-young senior, living in Langley, BC, with my wife, Bren, and a temperamental cat named Mouse.

After writing for myself for most of my adult life, I finally discovered there was actually a market for the kind of stories I liked to write. I was a little slower to realize that the strong female characters I had created over the years would definitely fit into the world of lesfic.

It’s all my wife’s fault, of course. If she had not introduced me to authors like Radclyffe and Jae, I might not ever be sitting here, writing this blog. So thanks for tagging along on this tour. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Very much looking forward to reading your story and seeing what happens with Frankie and Edie!:) And can I just say that I love that your cat is named Mouse!! That is just too cute! Thanks so much for sharing your story and blog. 🙂